This is the first volume describing the results of the CAUs excavations in Cambridge and it is al... more This is the first volume describing the results of the CAUs excavations in Cambridge and it is also the first monograph ever published on the archaeology of the town
The Roman period saw the empire expand across Europe and the Mediterranean, including much of wha... more The Roman period saw the empire expand across Europe and the Mediterranean, including much of what is today the United Kingdom. While there is written evidence of high mobility into and out of Britain for administrators, traders and the military, the impact of imperialism on local population structure is invisible in the textual record. The extent of genetic change that occurred in Britain before the Early Medieval Period and how closely linked by genetic kinship the local populations were, remains underexplored. Here, using genome-wide data from 52 ancient individuals from Cambridgeshire, we show low levels of genetic ancestry differentiation between Romano-British sites and lower levels of runs of homozygosity over 4 centimorgans (cM than in the Bronze Age and Neolithic. We find fourteen cases of genetic relatedness within and one between sites without evidence of patrilineal dominance and one case of temporary mobility within a family unit during the Late Romano-British period. W...
Although dozens of ancientYersinia pestisgenomes and a vast corpus of documentary data are availa... more Although dozens of ancientYersinia pestisgenomes and a vast corpus of documentary data are available, the origin and spread of consecutive outbreaks of the Second Plague Pandemic in Europe (14th–18th c.) are still poorly understood. For the majority of ancient genomes, only radiocarbon dates spanning several decades are available, hampering an association with historically recorded plague outbreaks. Here, we present new genomic evidence of the Second Pandemic from 11 sites in England, Estonia, the Netherlands, Russia, and Switzerland yielding 11Y. pestisgenomes with >4-fold mean coverage dating to between 1349 and 1710. In addition, we present a novel approach for integrating the chronological information retrieved from phylogenetic analysis with their respective radiocarbon dates, based on a novel methodology offering more precise dating intervals. Together with a fine-grained analysis of documentarily recorded plague outbreaks, this allows us to tentatively associate all availa...
... of a horse. Whilst there is no absolute proof that the young man fought on horseback this wou... more ... of a horse. Whilst there is no absolute proof that the young man fought on horseback this would seem a credible conclusion. Horsegear is uncommon in early Anglo-Saxon contexts, the most frequent finds being two link iron snaffle bits.16 As pagan Anglo-Saxon burials and ...
Girdle buckles associated with several groups of burials at the later medieval Augustinian friary... more Girdle buckles associated with several groups of burials at the later medieval Augustinian friary in Cambridge indicate that clothed burial was common, with a much higher prevalence than was common during the period. The clothed burial was highly regularised, in terms of both the garments worn and the types of buckles used, and apparently limited to members of the Augustinian Order. The buckles were primarily supplied by the friary, rather than representing individual choices and there is evidence that the girdles that individuals were buried with were those they used in life. These buckles functioned on several levels, as symbols of both corporate and personal identity. Discoveries at other English Augustinian friaries demonstrate specific typological parallels, indicating broader connections, networks and identities. Although buckles are common later medieval items, those from the Cambridge Augustinian friary present a unique opportunity to contextualise their use by one segment of society.
The extent of the devastation of the Black Death pandemic (1346-53) on European populations is kn... more The extent of the devastation of the Black Death pandemic (1346-53) on European populations is known from documentary sources and its bacterial source illuminated by studies of ancient pathogen DNA. What has remained less understood is the effect of the pandemic on human mobility and genetic diversity at local scale in the context of the social stratification of medieval communities. Here we study 275 newly reported ancient genomes from later medieval and post-medieval Cambridgeshire, from individuals buried before, during, and after the Black Death. The majority of individuals examined had local genetic ancestries. Consistent with the function of the institutions, we found a lack of close relatives among the friars and the inmates of the hospital in contrast to their abundance in general urban and rural parish communities. Accounting for the genetic component for height accentuates the disparities between social groups in stature estimated from long bones, as a proxy for health and...
To combine paleopathological and biomechanical analysis to reconstruct the impact that a severe s... more To combine paleopathological and biomechanical analysis to reconstruct the impact that a severe skeletal injury had on an individual's ability to function and participate in medieval society. Materials: Three medieval individuals from Cambridge, England with ante-mortem fractures to the lower limb were analyzed. Methods: Plain X-rays were used to determine the degree of malunion, rotation and overlap of each fracture. Cortical bone architecture of the injured individuals and 28 uninjured controls were analyzed using microcomputed tomography (µCT). Clinical and functional consequences were examined using the Bioarcheology of Care framework. Results: The mechanism of injury, the secondary complications, and the extent of the care received was reconstructed for each individual. Bilateral asymmetry in the cortical bone architecture revealed the long-term alterations to each individual's gait. Conclusion: Each of these individuals survived a severe injury resulting in chronic physical impairment, though not all would have been considered 'disabled'. Significance: This research contributes to the discussion about medieval care provision and social constructions of disability by illustrating how an interdisciplinary approach provides insight into the experiences of those with physical impairments. The integration of µCT imaging within the Bioarcheology of Care model is a novel approach with great potential for application across the field. Limitations: Biomechanical analysis was restricted to cortical geometry. Suggestions for future research: Further study of bilateral asymmetry in trabecular architecture could complement our understanding of altered loading modalities in past societies.
To investigate how lifestyle may have impacted the risk of contracting intestinal parasites in me... more To investigate how lifestyle may have impacted the risk of contracting intestinal parasites in medieval England. Regular clergy (such as those living in monasteries) and the lay population form interesting groups for comparison as diet and lifestyle varied significantly. Monasteries were built with latrine blocks and hand washing facilities, unlike houses of the poor. Materials: Sediment samples from the pelvis, along with control samples from feet and skull, of 19 burials of Augustinian Friars (13th-16th century), and 25 burials from All Saints by the Castle parish cemetery (10th-14th century), Cambridge. Methods: We analysed the sediment using micro-sieving and digital light microscopy to identify the eggs of intestinal parasites. Results: Parasite prevalence (roundworm and whipworm) in the Augustinian friars was 58%, and in the All Saints by the Castle parishioners just 32% (Barnards Test score statistic 1.7176, p-value 0.092). Conclusions: It is interesting that the friars had nearly double the infection rate of parasites spread by poor hygiene, compared with the general population. We consider options that might explain this apparent difference, and discuss descriptions and treatment of intestinal worms in medical texts circulating in Cambridge during the medieval period. Significance: This is the first study to compare prevalence of parasite infection between groups with different socioeconomic status from the same location. Limitations: Quality of egg preservation was suboptimal, so our data may under-represent the true prevalence. Suggestions for further research: Larger studies with greater statistical power, covering different time periods and regions.
To combine paleopathological and biomechanical analysis to reconstruct the impact that a severe s... more To combine paleopathological and biomechanical analysis to reconstruct the impact that a severe skeletal injury had on an individual's ability to function and participate in medieval society. Materials: Three medieval individuals from Cambridge, England with ante-mortem fractures to the lower limb were analyzed. Methods: Plain X-rays were used to determine the degree of malunion, rotation and overlap of each fracture. Cortical bone architecture of the injured individuals and 28 uninjured controls were analyzed using microcomputed tomography (µCT). Clinical and functional consequences were examined using the Bioarcheology of Care framework. Results: The mechanism of injury, the secondary complications, and the extent of the care received was reconstructed for each individual. Bilateral asymmetry in the cortical bone architecture revealed the long-term alterations to each individual's gait. Conclusion: Each of these individuals survived a severe injury resulting in chronic physical impairment, though not all would have been considered 'disabled'. Significance: This research contributes to the discussion about medieval care provision and social constructions of disability by illustrating how an interdisciplinary approach provides insight into the experiences of those with physical impairments. The integration of µCT imaging within the Bioarcheology of Care model is a novel approach with great potential for application across the field. Limitations: Biomechanical analysis was restricted to cortical geometry. Suggestions for future research: Further study of bilateral asymmetry in trabecular architecture could complement our understanding of altered loading modalities in past societies.
The Austin friars in Cambridge was an important religious institution between the late thirteenth... more The Austin friars in Cambridge was an important religious institution between the late thirteenth and mid-sixteenth centuries. Excavations have revealed well-dated and contextualised burials associated with the friary, as well as a range of material culture. The burials have been subject to a wide range of analyses including osteology, palaeopathology, stable isotopes, ancient DNA and geometric morphometrics. Significantly the distinction between clothed and shrouded burials allows members of the Augustinian order and the laity to be identified. This represents the best-understood published group of burials from an Austin friars in the British Isles and emphasises the importance of nuanced interpretation, as burial at friaries was a structured and multi-local phenomenon. These burials and other material can be interpreted in terms of both mendicant ideals and anti-fraternal criticisms.
This is the first volume describing the results of the CAUs excavations in Cambridge and it is al... more This is the first volume describing the results of the CAUs excavations in Cambridge and it is also the first monograph ever published on the archaeology of the town
The Roman period saw the empire expand across Europe and the Mediterranean, including much of wha... more The Roman period saw the empire expand across Europe and the Mediterranean, including much of what is today the United Kingdom. While there is written evidence of high mobility into and out of Britain for administrators, traders and the military, the impact of imperialism on local population structure is invisible in the textual record. The extent of genetic change that occurred in Britain before the Early Medieval Period and how closely linked by genetic kinship the local populations were, remains underexplored. Here, using genome-wide data from 52 ancient individuals from Cambridgeshire, we show low levels of genetic ancestry differentiation between Romano-British sites and lower levels of runs of homozygosity over 4 centimorgans (cM than in the Bronze Age and Neolithic. We find fourteen cases of genetic relatedness within and one between sites without evidence of patrilineal dominance and one case of temporary mobility within a family unit during the Late Romano-British period. W...
Although dozens of ancientYersinia pestisgenomes and a vast corpus of documentary data are availa... more Although dozens of ancientYersinia pestisgenomes and a vast corpus of documentary data are available, the origin and spread of consecutive outbreaks of the Second Plague Pandemic in Europe (14th–18th c.) are still poorly understood. For the majority of ancient genomes, only radiocarbon dates spanning several decades are available, hampering an association with historically recorded plague outbreaks. Here, we present new genomic evidence of the Second Pandemic from 11 sites in England, Estonia, the Netherlands, Russia, and Switzerland yielding 11Y. pestisgenomes with >4-fold mean coverage dating to between 1349 and 1710. In addition, we present a novel approach for integrating the chronological information retrieved from phylogenetic analysis with their respective radiocarbon dates, based on a novel methodology offering more precise dating intervals. Together with a fine-grained analysis of documentarily recorded plague outbreaks, this allows us to tentatively associate all availa...
... of a horse. Whilst there is no absolute proof that the young man fought on horseback this wou... more ... of a horse. Whilst there is no absolute proof that the young man fought on horseback this would seem a credible conclusion. Horsegear is uncommon in early Anglo-Saxon contexts, the most frequent finds being two link iron snaffle bits.16 As pagan Anglo-Saxon burials and ...
Girdle buckles associated with several groups of burials at the later medieval Augustinian friary... more Girdle buckles associated with several groups of burials at the later medieval Augustinian friary in Cambridge indicate that clothed burial was common, with a much higher prevalence than was common during the period. The clothed burial was highly regularised, in terms of both the garments worn and the types of buckles used, and apparently limited to members of the Augustinian Order. The buckles were primarily supplied by the friary, rather than representing individual choices and there is evidence that the girdles that individuals were buried with were those they used in life. These buckles functioned on several levels, as symbols of both corporate and personal identity. Discoveries at other English Augustinian friaries demonstrate specific typological parallels, indicating broader connections, networks and identities. Although buckles are common later medieval items, those from the Cambridge Augustinian friary present a unique opportunity to contextualise their use by one segment of society.
The extent of the devastation of the Black Death pandemic (1346-53) on European populations is kn... more The extent of the devastation of the Black Death pandemic (1346-53) on European populations is known from documentary sources and its bacterial source illuminated by studies of ancient pathogen DNA. What has remained less understood is the effect of the pandemic on human mobility and genetic diversity at local scale in the context of the social stratification of medieval communities. Here we study 275 newly reported ancient genomes from later medieval and post-medieval Cambridgeshire, from individuals buried before, during, and after the Black Death. The majority of individuals examined had local genetic ancestries. Consistent with the function of the institutions, we found a lack of close relatives among the friars and the inmates of the hospital in contrast to their abundance in general urban and rural parish communities. Accounting for the genetic component for height accentuates the disparities between social groups in stature estimated from long bones, as a proxy for health and...
To combine paleopathological and biomechanical analysis to reconstruct the impact that a severe s... more To combine paleopathological and biomechanical analysis to reconstruct the impact that a severe skeletal injury had on an individual's ability to function and participate in medieval society. Materials: Three medieval individuals from Cambridge, England with ante-mortem fractures to the lower limb were analyzed. Methods: Plain X-rays were used to determine the degree of malunion, rotation and overlap of each fracture. Cortical bone architecture of the injured individuals and 28 uninjured controls were analyzed using microcomputed tomography (µCT). Clinical and functional consequences were examined using the Bioarcheology of Care framework. Results: The mechanism of injury, the secondary complications, and the extent of the care received was reconstructed for each individual. Bilateral asymmetry in the cortical bone architecture revealed the long-term alterations to each individual's gait. Conclusion: Each of these individuals survived a severe injury resulting in chronic physical impairment, though not all would have been considered 'disabled'. Significance: This research contributes to the discussion about medieval care provision and social constructions of disability by illustrating how an interdisciplinary approach provides insight into the experiences of those with physical impairments. The integration of µCT imaging within the Bioarcheology of Care model is a novel approach with great potential for application across the field. Limitations: Biomechanical analysis was restricted to cortical geometry. Suggestions for future research: Further study of bilateral asymmetry in trabecular architecture could complement our understanding of altered loading modalities in past societies.
To investigate how lifestyle may have impacted the risk of contracting intestinal parasites in me... more To investigate how lifestyle may have impacted the risk of contracting intestinal parasites in medieval England. Regular clergy (such as those living in monasteries) and the lay population form interesting groups for comparison as diet and lifestyle varied significantly. Monasteries were built with latrine blocks and hand washing facilities, unlike houses of the poor. Materials: Sediment samples from the pelvis, along with control samples from feet and skull, of 19 burials of Augustinian Friars (13th-16th century), and 25 burials from All Saints by the Castle parish cemetery (10th-14th century), Cambridge. Methods: We analysed the sediment using micro-sieving and digital light microscopy to identify the eggs of intestinal parasites. Results: Parasite prevalence (roundworm and whipworm) in the Augustinian friars was 58%, and in the All Saints by the Castle parishioners just 32% (Barnards Test score statistic 1.7176, p-value 0.092). Conclusions: It is interesting that the friars had nearly double the infection rate of parasites spread by poor hygiene, compared with the general population. We consider options that might explain this apparent difference, and discuss descriptions and treatment of intestinal worms in medical texts circulating in Cambridge during the medieval period. Significance: This is the first study to compare prevalence of parasite infection between groups with different socioeconomic status from the same location. Limitations: Quality of egg preservation was suboptimal, so our data may under-represent the true prevalence. Suggestions for further research: Larger studies with greater statistical power, covering different time periods and regions.
To combine paleopathological and biomechanical analysis to reconstruct the impact that a severe s... more To combine paleopathological and biomechanical analysis to reconstruct the impact that a severe skeletal injury had on an individual's ability to function and participate in medieval society. Materials: Three medieval individuals from Cambridge, England with ante-mortem fractures to the lower limb were analyzed. Methods: Plain X-rays were used to determine the degree of malunion, rotation and overlap of each fracture. Cortical bone architecture of the injured individuals and 28 uninjured controls were analyzed using microcomputed tomography (µCT). Clinical and functional consequences were examined using the Bioarcheology of Care framework. Results: The mechanism of injury, the secondary complications, and the extent of the care received was reconstructed for each individual. Bilateral asymmetry in the cortical bone architecture revealed the long-term alterations to each individual's gait. Conclusion: Each of these individuals survived a severe injury resulting in chronic physical impairment, though not all would have been considered 'disabled'. Significance: This research contributes to the discussion about medieval care provision and social constructions of disability by illustrating how an interdisciplinary approach provides insight into the experiences of those with physical impairments. The integration of µCT imaging within the Bioarcheology of Care model is a novel approach with great potential for application across the field. Limitations: Biomechanical analysis was restricted to cortical geometry. Suggestions for future research: Further study of bilateral asymmetry in trabecular architecture could complement our understanding of altered loading modalities in past societies.
The Austin friars in Cambridge was an important religious institution between the late thirteenth... more The Austin friars in Cambridge was an important religious institution between the late thirteenth and mid-sixteenth centuries. Excavations have revealed well-dated and contextualised burials associated with the friary, as well as a range of material culture. The burials have been subject to a wide range of analyses including osteology, palaeopathology, stable isotopes, ancient DNA and geometric morphometrics. Significantly the distinction between clothed and shrouded burials allows members of the Augustinian order and the laity to be identified. This represents the best-understood published group of burials from an Austin friars in the British Isles and emphasises the importance of nuanced interpretation, as burial at friaries was a structured and multi-local phenomenon. These burials and other material can be interpreted in terms of both mendicant ideals and anti-fraternal criticisms.
What is osteobiography good for? The last generation of archaeologists fought to overcome the tra... more What is osteobiography good for? The last generation of archaeologists fought to overcome the traditional assumption that archaeology is merely ancillary to history, a substitute to be used when written sources are defective ; it is now widely acknowledged that material histories and textual histories tell equally valid and complementary stories about the past. Yet the traditional assumption hangs on implicitly in biography: osteobiography is used to fill the gaps in the textual record rather than as a primary source in its own right. In this article we compare the textual biographies and material biographies of two thirteenth-century townsfolk from medieval England-Robert Curteis, attested in legal records, and "Feature 958," excavated archaeologically and studied osteobi-ographically. As the former shows, textual biographies of ordinary people mostly reveal a few traces of financial or legal transactions. Interpreting these traces, in fact, implicitly presumes a history of the body. Osteobiogra-phy reveals a different kind of history, the history of the body as a locus of appearance and social identity, work, health and experience. For all but a few textually rich individuals, osteobiography provides a fuller and more human biography. Moreover, textual visibility is deeply biased by class and gender; osteobiography offers particular promise for Marxist and feminist understandings of the past. ¿Para qué sirve la osteobiografía? La última generación de arqueólogos luchó para superar la suposición tradi-cional de que la arqueología es meramente (accesoria) a la historia, una sustituta que se puede utilizar cuando las fuentes escritas son deficientes. Ahora es ampliamente reconocido que las historias materiales y las historias textuales igualmente válido y complementario del pasado. Sin embargo, la suposición tradicional continúa im-plícitamente en la biografía: se utiliza la osteobiografía para llenar los vacíos en el historial textual en vez de utilizarla como fuente primaria por derecho propio. En esta investigación comparamos las biografías textuales y biografías materiales de dos ciudadanos de la Inglaterra medieval del siglo XIII-Robert Cuteis, documentado en registros legales, y "Feature 958", excavada arqueologicamente y examinada osteobiograficamente. Como demuestra la primera, biografías textuales de la gente común sobre todo revelan algunos rastros de transac-ciones financieras o legales. La interpretación de estos rastros de hecho presume implícitamente una historia del cuerpo. La osteobiografía revela una clase de historia distinta, la historia del cuerpo como un sitio que contiene información sobre apariencia e identidad social, trabajo, salud y experiencia. Para todos aparte de algunos
The second plague pandemic (14th - 18th century AD), caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, is ... more The second plague pandemic (14th - 18th century AD), caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, is infamous for its initial wave, the Black Death (1346-1353 AD), and its repeated scourges in Europe and the vicinity until the Early Modern Era. Here, we report 32 ancient Y. pestis genomes spanning the 14th to 17th century AD through the analysis of human remains from nine European archaeological sites. Our data support an initial entry of the bacterium from Eastern Europe and the absence of genetic diversity during the Black Death as well as low diversity during local outbreaks thereafter. Moreover, analysis of post-Black Death genomes shows the diversification of a Y. pestis lineage into multiple genetically distinct clades that may have given rise to more than one disease reservoir in, or close to, Europe. Finally, we show the loss of a genomic region that includes virulence-associated genes in strains associated with late stages of the second plague pandemic (17th - 18th century AD). This deletion could not be detected in extant strains within our modern dataset, though it was identified in a today-extinct lineage associated with the first plague pandemic (6th - 8th century AD), suggesting convergent evolution during both pandemic events.
The first historically documented pandemic caused by Yersinia pestis started as the Justinianic P... more The first historically documented pandemic caused by Yersinia pestis started as the Justinianic Plague in 541 within the Roman Empire and continued as the so-called First Pandemic until 750. Although palaeogenomic studies have previously identified the causative agent as Y. pestis, little is known about the bacterium's spread, diversity and genetic history over the course of the pandemic. To elucidate the microevolution of the bacterium during this time period, we screened human remains from 20 sites in Austria, Britain, Germany, France and Spain for Y. pestis DNA and reconstructed six new genomes. We present a novel methodological approach assessing SNPs in ancient bacterial genomes, facilitating qualitative analyses of low coverage genomes from a metagenomic background. Phylogenetic analysis reveals the existence of previously undocumented Y. pestis diversity during the 6th-7th centuries, and provides evidence for the presence of multiple distinct Y. pestis strains in Europe. We offer genetic evidence for the presence of the Justinianic Plague in the British Isles, previously only hypothesized from ambiguous documentary accounts, as well as southern France and Spain, and that southern Germany seems to have been affected by at least two distinct Y. pestis strains. Four of the reported strains form a polytomy similar to others seen across the Y. pestis phylogeny, associated with the Second and Third Pandemics. We identified a deletion of a 45 kb genomic region in the most recent First Pandemic strain affecting two virulence factors, intriguingly overlapping with a deletion found in 17th-18th-century genomes of the Second Pandemic.
The second plague pandemic, caused by Yersinia pestis, devastated Europe and the nearby regions b... more The second plague pandemic, caused by Yersinia pestis, devastated Europe and the nearby regions between the 14 th and 18 th centuries AD. Here we analyse human remains from ten European archaeological sites spanning this period and reconstruct 34 ancient Y. pestis genomes. Our data support an initial entry of the bacterium through eastern Europe, the absence of genetic diversity during the Black Death, and low within-outbreak diversity thereafter. Analysis of post-Black Death genomes shows the diversification of a Y. pestis lineage into multiple genetically distinct clades that may have given rise to more than one disease reservoir in, or close to, Europe. In addition, we show the loss of a genomic region that includes virulence-related genes in strains associated with late stages of the pandemic. The deletion was also identified in genomes connected with the first plague pandemic (541-750 AD), suggesting a comparable evolutionary trajectory of Y. pestis during both events.
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Papers by craig cessford